Trump, in phone call, congratulates Johnson on becoming British PM

US
President Donald Trump congratulated Boris Johnson on becoming British prime
minister in a phone call on Friday and said work had already begun on a US-British
free trade agreement.

Trump
told reporters in the Oval Office he had just gotten off the phone with
Johnson.

“I
congratulated him and he’s all set to go,” said Trump.

Johnson
succeeded Theresa May as prime minister earlier this week and made clear to the
European Union he will be taking a tougher approach to negotiating a revision
of the Brexit divorce deal that May failed to deliver.

Trump
said their two governments were already working on a free trade agreement seen
as crucial to help Britain once a Brexit deal takes place.

“They
agreed that Brexit offers an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen the
economic partnership between the UK and United States,” said a British
government statement.

It
said the leaders “both expressed their commitment to delivering an ambitious
free trade agreement and to starting negotiations as soon as possible after the
UK leaves the EU.”

The
two leaders also discussed current tensions with Iran, following the recent
seizure of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

“They
ended by looking forward to seeing each other at the G7 summit in Biarritz next
month,” the statement said.